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Moving to a culture of ‘smart work’

It is a common trend that people work hard, often much more than isrequired. This is particularly relevant when “working hard” is one ofthe key values of the person and becomes a character trait, somethingthat is seen as virtuous by the individual and his peers. There isnothing wrong in working hard; but only when all the extra effortsresult in profitable or productive outcomes; it is beneficial for thefirm and its people.

This leads us to the question of how can we work smartly or remainhighly productive, without clocking hundreds of hours. Smart work canhappen when managers create teams that have complimentary skill sets andoutcomes are pursued through team effort rather than individual effort.It is important for people to have a realistic understanding of theircompetencies and their behaviours.; Another reason that prevents peoplefrom not working smartly, is over-engineering what needs to be done.People often feel that by going the extra mile, whether required or not,can impress their boss, client or both. Further, the misguidedaspiration to be a perfectionist often results in neglect of prioritiesand unproductive work.

Smart workers focus on how they spend their energies rather than theirtime. They tend to spend their best energies on most important tasks athand and are good at prioritizing. There is also a common myth thattaking multiple roles and responsibilities is good; smart workers focuson a few jobs at hand and do them well. Finally, it is important torecognise the point of ‘diminishing returns’ and not doing the work whenit’s time to stop. New technology clearly enables us to work faster andefficiently, and it facilitates flexible and remote working, but it alsomeans that we cannot really get away and switch off.

So the question to ask ourselves is, how can we become smart workers?Given the fact that more than half our waking life is spent working, itmust surely be worth the effort!